Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 125422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
“And if that doesn’t happen?” I ask. “What’s more important? Do I sacrifice my humanity to save the Underworld? Or is holding on to love worth the loss?”
She gives me a grim smile. “That will be your choice to make, Hanna. I can’t make that choice for you. But we will have to get you back before that opportunity is taken away entirely.”
My mother quickly leads me through the golden realm, across drifting fields of shimmering blossoms and spectral vines that sway in the warm breeze. The sky seems to shift between dawn and dusk with each step we take, creating a dizzying pattern of halos and glimmers, as if the world itself is breathing in light. The edges of my vision pulse, and I have to focus, to anchor my thoughts. Each time I try to recall Tuoni—his handsome face, his rough voice, the touch of his bare hands—I feel it slip farther away, as if I’m trying to clutch smoke.
“I can’t feel them,” I say, voice tight, as we approach a formation of opalescent stones arranged in a crescent. “I remember them, but it’s hollow. I’m trying to hold on, but it’s like…unwrapping a present to find an empty box.”
My mother stops in front of a great cleft in the ground from which fire whirls upward, bright tongues of flame twisting into a luminous archway. Within the blaze, I see flickers of distant shapes—crooked silhouettes, faint outlines of twisting roots and darkened halls that shimmer and fade. It must be Tuonela beckoning me, reminding me I have something to fight for.
“Your humanity is both your weakness and your strength,” my mother says, turning to me, her eyes glinting like molten gold. “You must decide what matters more: the power you’ve gained here, or the love and compassion that forged you into who you are.”
I can barely hear her over the roar of the flames. Heat presses against my skin, prickling like hot needles. My new powers thrum inside me, anxious, as if eager to test themselves in battle. But what’s the point of power if it isolates me, if I cannot feel what drives me to protect those I love?
I step forward, the soles of my bare feet warm against the shimmering ground. The air feels thinner now, charged with strange energy. The butterflies that followed us earlier now keep their distance, hovering at the edges of the glowing meadow, their wings refracting light into delicate prisms.
“Once you cross this threshold,” my mother says, lifting her chin, “you will find yourself in your old realm. You will face Louhi’s corruption, the unraveling of Tuonela. You must remember why you fight, Hanna. You must remember who you are. The longer you hesitate, the less of your mortal self you will retain.”
I tighten my jaw, heart fluttering in my chest. I think of Lovia, of her fierce grin. I think of my father, the warmth of his laughter. I think of Tuoni, how he once anchored me to a world I thought I understood. The man I love. Their faces flicker behind my eyelids, distant stars threatening to wink out. Still, I refuse to let them vanish entirely.
“It’s time,” my mother says, no softness in her tone. She steps aside, and I face the fiery portal alone. It roars hungrily, an elemental maw ready to devour me, transform me, or both. The heat from it makes my eyes water, blurring the dreamlike landscape. I take a breath, and the essence of this place fills my lungs with something vibrant and alive. Magic, perhaps, or eternity condensed. It may not be oxygen, but it fuels me with strength just the same.
I lift my hand and place it into the flames, expecting pain. Instead, the fire swirls around my wrist like silk, and my heart clenches. In a few steps, I’ll be gone from this radiant world, returning to what must now feel like shadow and ash. Will I lose this sense of limitless potential?
Can I carry it with me?
My mother watches, silent and stern. The sky above shifts from gold to bronze, as if the world itself is urging me onward. I inhale one last time, trying to memorize the scent of cinnamon and flowers and the strange, comforting hum of this realm.
I step forward. The flames part. My vision flares bright.
And I move into the fire.
CHAPTER SIX
LOVIA
The forest seems to sigh as we leave the ash behind, Yggthra’s final shriek still echoing faintly in my ears. The silence that follows is heavy, an invisible weight pressing down on our shoulders. The Magician walks ahead, guiding us through the maze of twisted trunks and arching roots. I keep my sword ready, my eye firmly on Rasmus to keep him in check. The further we go, the deeper the hush grows, until we move through a world of muffled footsteps, rustling leaves, and water that drips down mossy rock faces.